Decision details

Reason for the decision

The outturn position for the Council needs to be noted by Cabinet.  The rolling forward of funds into 2024-25, the capital budget changes and the reserves drawdowns and realignments need to be agreed by Cabinet.

Background – Provide brief additional context

The report on the Council’s financial position as at the end of 2023-24 will be reported to Cabinet on 20 June 2024, which shows an overspend on the revenue budget of £12.4m.  The report provides detail of our revenue and capital outturn positions and how the revenue overspend is funded from reserves, which needs to be agreed by Cabinet.

Cabinet is also asked to agree revenue budget roll forwards, capital re-phasing, capital programme cash limit changes and reserves realignment.

How the proposed decision supports the Framing Kent's Future - Our Council Strategy 2022-2026

Framing Kent’s Future (FKF), the KCC Strategic Statement, was approved at County Council in May 2022 and sets out the council’s ambition and strategic priorities until 2026. FKF acknowledged the significant financial and demand pressures the council would be facing over the coming four years, whilst concurrently delivering an ambitious agenda for Kent residents, businesses, and local communities. The Securing Kent's Future plans and this related Finance Monitoring report 2023-24 reflects the need to confirm a re-prioritisation of Council business within the framework of Framing Kent's Future - further details are set out within the “Securing Kent's Future” Cabinet report.

How the proposed decision supports Securing Kent’s Future

Securing Kent’s Future (SKF) acknowledges that given the significance of adults and children’s social care within the council’s budget, and that spending growth pressures on the council’s budget overwhelming (but not exclusively) come from social care, that the priority of delivering New Models of Care and Support must take precedence over the other priorities in Framing Kent’s Future.  This creates an expectation that council services across all directorates must collectively prioritise delivering the new models of care and support objective as a collective enterprise.

The Cabinet agree to:

a)    note the capital and revenue outturn position for 2023-24; and

b)    agree that £2.097m is rolled forward to fund existing criteria (as per Appendix 1); and

c)    agree that £0.675m is rolled forward to fund Member grants (as per Appendix 1); and

d)    agree the drawing down of £12.372m from Smoothing reserves to fund the 2023-24 overspend; and

e)    agree the £198.2m of capital slippage/re-phasing from 2023-24 will be added to the 2024-25 and later years capital budgets (as per Section 11 and Appendix 2); and

f)     note the review of the capital programme; and

g)    agree the proposed capital cash limit changes totalling £86.180m (as per Appendix 3); and

h)    agree the changes made as a result of the Reserves Review (as per Appendix 4)